7 thatthe Sun the tor the maintenance of lif. As any other stay, ee ie ye cycle:birth, life, and death. wyolutionary lif isa wellknown fat proving us wit the ne h er, the Sun has an e' howeve Lifecycle ofthe Sun ~ from its birth to its death . ris the junction of particles that form a cloud of ele es a sere ‘occur, that i, there is a grouping of atoms that give rise to the birth of the Sun. Solar eneray is created by the nuclear fusion that takes place in the Sun. Fusion occurs when protons of hydrogen atoms violently collide in the Sur's core and fuse to create a helium atom, ‘Today, the Sun is an average star and will remain so for 4-5 billion years. Then it will expand and ool to become a red giant. At this stage, it will begin to lose mass and form a planetary nebula, a cold and diffuse cloud; its core will retract and become a white dwarf. After that, it will no longer have nuclear eneray, slowly cooling down to a black dwarf, reaching its end Research says that the Sun will die in about 7 billion years, no longer emitting light or being visible Sun: Life vs. Extinction The Chicrulub crater n the Gulf of Mexico, marks the impact site of an asteroid that struck Earth 4r0und 65 milion years ago. The impact of this asteroid caused tsunamis and earthquakes across the globe. There were also elements launched into the Stratosphere that resulted in the | blocking ofthe Sun and a decrease of 10° C, on average, in the temperature of the planet, which tock about 75% of all living species to their end, including dinosaurs, ae Exclusive Additional Resources « Lesson 8